OAKLEY | 25,000? Why Not 50,000???

Toronto, ON, Canada / Talk Radio AM640

Posted: December 01, 2015 07:22 am

The man who was Canada’s immigration minister when Joe Clark served as prime minister briefly from 1979-80 says we can do better when it comes to the number of Syrian refugees we’re accepting into the country.

Ron Atkey supports the 25,000 Syrians that the government is beginning to re-settle in the country. However, he’d like to see this “noble objective” expanded.

He’s calling for a 50,000 to be accepted.

Atkey was minister during the Vietnamese boat people crisis, and oversaw the intake of 50,000 refugees. By the end of 1980, the number of Vietnamese granted asylum rose to 60,000.

The lawyer, professor, and national security expert is also chair of Humanity Wins, a group that advocated for re-settlement of Syrian refugees in Canada.